Valerie Trueblood grew up in rural Virginia and now lives in Seattle. In 2006 her first novel, Seven Loves (Little, Brown) was a Barnes and Noble "Discover Great New Writers" pick. Her short stories have appeared in various journals including One Story, The Northwest Review, The Saturday Evening Post and Narrative. In 2011 her collection Marry or Burn was a finalist for the Frank O'Connor Short Story Award. "Trueblood has earned a place next to Alice Munro on my shelf of fiction" - Alicia Ostriker